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Josef
Josef was the former palace librarian in the Palace of Del. History Josef was the palace librarian during the reign of King Alton. One day, chief advisor Prandine came to Josef and told him to destroy the Deltora Annals on the command of the king. Josef couldn't bring himself to do it, since the Annals contained the records of Deltora's history. Instead, he burned some lesser books, and faked his own death by tossing pig bones into the fire and writing a suicide note. That night he fled the city of Del with the Deltora Annals. Josef found his way to the Plains territory, where he found room and board with an innkeeper. Here he worked on a book called the Deltora Book of Monsters, which served as both a journal and documentation on some of Deltora's most fearsome creatures. While writing the book, he met a Dread Gnome who had fled from Dread Mountain, pleeding for help in freeing her people from the Ooze Toad Gellick. Josef ignored her pleas, and the next morning she was discovered dead. Josef realized that the killers were two fruit sellers who had overheard the conversation. The next day these same men arrived at the inn Josef was staying at. Luckily he was able to escape, and met a peddlar named Steven, who showed him the way to some underground passageways where many homeless people were living. It was here that Josef met a boy named Ranesh, who had recently escaped from pirates after they raided his hometown of Where Water's Meet. In exchange for food, reading, and writing lessons, Josef managed to get information about the Glus and Guardian from Ranesh. The two quickly formed a friendship, with Ranesh going out and stealing food for Josef when they couldn't find any. Josef eventually came to love Ranesh like a son. Eventually the fruit vendors found Josef and attempted to kill him and Ranesh. Luckily Steven arrived and, with the help of his brother Nevets, was able to kill both vendors, who were Ols in discuise. Steven then directs Josef and Ranesh to a family in Del who could shelter them. The pair were taken in by a potter named Michel and his wife Amarantz. They shelted and cared for the two until the Shadow Lord had them taken to the Shadowlands after its invasion of Deltora. Ranesh was forced to return to stealing to keep them alive. ''Cavern of the Fear'' After the Shadow Lord was banished from Deltora, Josef sent Ranesh to find Jasmine and bring her to him. Josef explained to Jasmine who he was, and that the Deltora Annals contained the secrets to helping Lief rescue the prisoners the Shadow Lord took back to the Shadowlands. She agrees to take him back to the palace, where Josef is met with a warm welcome and quickly given back his position as Palace Librarian. Josef shows Lief the story of the Pirran Pipe, The Girl with the Golden Hair, and several documents by Doran the Dragonlover in regards to a possible entrance to the Shadowlands located in the Os-Mine Hills. ''Isle of Illusions'' Josef was one of the few individuals who knew about Marilen's arrival at the palace. She spent much of her time in the library, and grew close to Josef and Ranesh. However, Josef began to fear that she was growing fond of Ranesh. As such, he sent Ranesh away on an errand, hoping to buy time for Lief to return and marry Marilen so he would not have to send his foster son away forever. While heading to the kitchens, Josef runs into Amarantz, who had escaped the Shadowlands and was working in the palace kitchen. Beatings from Grey Guards had left her deph, so she had come to pleed to King Lief for help. Josef informs her that Lief is away, causing Amarantz to sink into depression. Pained at watching his friend's suffering, Josef informs Amarantz of Marilen's existance, saying that Lief will have to return eventually. The conversation was abuptly ended when Lindal of Broom arrived with Jinks. ''The Shadowlands'' Josef was amung the people to welcome Lief, Barda, and Jasmine back to the palace after they'd rescued the slaves from the Shadowlands. ''Dragon's Nest'' After Lief's return from the Shadowlands, Josef tried to educate Lief by encouraging him to read the Deltora Annals, as well as the Deltora Book of Monsters. Sadly, Lief never did for one reason or another. Josef also began work on Tales of Deltora, a book containing Deltora's greatest stories and historical moments. During this time, Ranesh left for Tora and married Marilen. Josef was forced to take a women named Paff as his new assistant, and while she was eager to work, Josef couldn't help but compare her to Ranesh on everything. Josef'' came to Lief on the night of the Full Moon Meeting. He attempted to give council to the king in regards to the famine ravaging Deltora, and how it might be connected to the disappearance of the dragons. Barda dismissed this information, and Lief wasn't able to listen more before the meeting began. Lief later came to Josef after learning of the Four Sisters. Josef originally thought of the Tenna Birdsong Tale of the same name, but upon seeing the map fragment Jasmine had found, he remembered Doran the Dragonlover's last entry, which made reference to the sisters as devices that were poisoning Deltora. With this knowledge, Lief, Barda, and Jasmine went off in secrecy to destroy the sisters. ''Shadowgate While Lief was away, Josef began studying maps of Deltora, as well as passages from the Deltora Annals. Paff also began to slowly slipp poison into his food and drink, causing his health to worsen, and make Josef distrust those around him. ''The Isle of the Dead'' Josef had Paff send a letter to Tora in hopes of reaching Lief with the information he had discovered. However, Paff removed the key sections of th letter before sending the incomplete message. ''The Sister of the South'' Lief received another message from Josef urging him to return to Del, just as word of the Toran Plague reached them. Using water from the Dreaming Spring, Lief went to him one night while he was studying a map of Deltora. Paff's poisoning had left him weak, and he openly doubted and questioned himself. Doom then came in with Paff, whome Josef sent to give Queen Sharn a message. When Lief, Barda, and Jasmine retunred to Del, Lief made his way to Josef's library. He was passed out over his work. When he looked at Lief, he thought it was just a fever vision, but he still managed to tell Lief odd words before passing out again. Ranesh later visited Josef after arriving with Zeean. The old librarian was on his deathbed, but he had enough time to tell Ranesh about his tunic, which Ranesh beleived meant he wanted to be buried in it. He also told Ranesh that he loved him, and that he was his son in all but blood before the poison finally killed him. Ranesh then brought his body to the palace sept to stand vigil over him. Josef's ghost was amung those that visited Lief in the sept when, in his greif, he tried to remove the Belt of Deltora. Josef tried to tell the king something important, but no voice came from his mouth. After the Sister of the South was destroyed, Lief finally looked at Josef's last book, Tales of Deltora. He read the Tale of the Four Sisters, and realized what the librarian was trying to tell him; by destroying the sisters, they unleased something worse that would destroy all of Deltora. Ranesh also found a map in Josef's tunic, which marked the city of Hira as the hiding spot for the Grey Tide. Ranesh and Marilen named their son after him. Physical appearance Josef was a frail, old man with grey hair and a wrinkled face. Personality Josef was very wise and knowledgeable. He was very protective of the royal family he served. He often let his tongue slip. When he let secrets entrusted to him by the people he served slip, he would feel terrible guilt and would not relax until he was personally forgiven. He later learned that it was wise to keep quiet. Abilities Josef was very wise and knowledgeable scholar. He remembered tales and history which had been forgotten by most people. He was very knowledgeable on the art of reading and writing, and also had a talent for painting, which he demonstrated in a book which described different monsters found in Deltora. His wisdom exceeded that of past scholars who had dismissed many ancient tales as nothing more than make-believe fairy tales, but which in fact had a lot of truth to them. Relationships Relatives Appearances Deltora Quest Deltora Quest 2 *"The Cavern of the Fear" *"The Isle of Illusion" Deltora Quest 3 *"Dragon's Nest" *"Isle of the Dead" *"The Sister of the South" Other *"The Deltora Book of Monsters" (narrated by) *"Tales of Deltora" (narrated by) Trivia References See also Category:Characters Category:Minor characters Category:Males Category:Del (tribe) Category:Deltorans Category:Post-Adin Deltoran Category:Deceased